Inside Information

We are in the midst of the USBC National Tournament for 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Have you gone yet, or awaiting information on what balls to take and where to play the lanes? Well, I have not been yet, so I don't have any report for you. Remember the old days? You had to ask other bowlers who went before you to give you a report of where they played and what kind of ball they threw. You knew their game from league, so you could guage what you were going to do.

When in the tournament city, you went to the civic center the day before you bowled and watched. You hoped to find a bowler with a similar style to predict your reaction. Well, that was the old days. Now, you have the Internet for additional information from total strangers. I ask friends and colleagues for information. I also read the USBC Open forum on bowl.com. Now, a new source of information that I don't recall viewing from previous years: YouTube.


Now, while at home, I can see other bowlers and judge how I would play the lanes based on low quality video. Of course, if I was posting a video of my nationals performance, it would certainly be edited to show my best shots. Hopefully, that would not be a short video!

You also still have the lane graph that is posted at bowl.com. But, as I have written earlier, who can read these things?